Instead, I set the ice bucket on the nightstand and pulled my knees to my chest.“Okay.So, breakfast and riding the death trap in the morning.”
The clock glowed 3:52 now and outside, the world was still pitch black.I’d never feared the dark, though.Real monsters had no problem operating during the day.
Nick settled back, ice pack pressed gently to his face, and I stretched out on my side, facing him.The room felt a little less haunted.Maybe if I fell asleep again, I wouldn’t get the nightmares again.The booze in the mini fridge called to me with a promise of peaceful sleep, but it hadn’t worked earlier tonight, so what was the point?
“Hey,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Next time, just ask if you want to kick my ass.I’ll let you.”
I smirked, already half-asleep.“Where’s the fun in that?”
He reached over to brush the hair off my face.“Goodnight, Nadya.”
“Night, Tuna.”
When I drifted off again, there were no hands.Just the warm, steady presence next to me, like a constant reminder that the world didn’t have only monsters.Sometimes, it held heroes who were there to put the monsters away.
Chapter 17
Nick
THE TWO-HOUR RIDE PASSEDin a blur.Nadya clung to my back the whole way, arms locked under my jacket and face pressed to the space between my shoulder blades.It made me feel absurdly alive, even if my hands were numb and my ass had fallen asleep halfway there.She smelled like vanilla, and I hated that the usual scent of paint was gone now since she wasn’t working on her art while she was with me.Maybe I should help set her up with something.It was her healthier coping mechanism, after all.
By the time we reached Melissa’s apartment building, it was noon.It sat between a car wash and a “health spa” that advertised an hour in a jacuzzi with two girls.
We parked in the lot, and I killed the engine.Nadya didn’t let go right away; she stayed pressed against my back a full three seconds after I took off my helmet.When she finally did let go, it was abrupt, and she almost toppled off the seat.I caught her by the thigh that was still close enough to mine, steadying her.My hand lingered, and for a second, I let myself imagine what it would be like if we were just a normal couple on a weekend trip.
But we weren’t.
I helped her off the bike, and she shook out her arms, then looked up at the building and grimaced.“Do you think she’ll even talk to us?”she asked.
“Not if we scare her off,” I said.“Let’s try to look nonthreatening.”
Nadya snorted.“You’re a six-foot-three ex-SEAL with a black eye.I’m a woman with red paint stains on her clothes and a bad attitude.We look like the opening credits of a true crime documentary.”
